Professional background and research
Paul Wink received his B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy and M.A. in Clinical
Psychology from the University of Melbourne, Australia. He holds a
Ph.D. in Personality Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley.
He is
currently Professor of Psychology at Wellesley College, and was a visiting
faculty at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Wink’s research interests are in the area of adult development
and aging broadly defined to include psychosocial functioning, and the
interface between personality, life course transitions, and socio-historical
context.
His extensive research on narcissism focuses on the differences between
healthy and pathological (overt and covert) narcissism. Wink has researched
personality
change among self- and other-directed women and has investigated the relationship
between social class and physical health among professional women. He has
studied
differences in individualism and collectivism among Euro- and Asian-Americans.

Recently, Dr. Wink directed a follow-up study of participants in
the Berkeley Guidance and Oakland Growth longitudinal studies.
These internationally
renowned
studies have tracked psychosocial and personality functioning among
a group of men and women differentiated by social class from adolescence
to late adulthood.
Wink is currently using these longitudinal data to examine the
socio-biographical antecedents, life course trajectories, and social
implications of
religion and spirituality. His research has shown that religiousness
remains
relatively
stable across the life course, that spirituality increases from
midlife onward, that family of origin is an important antecedent of
religious
commitment and
altruistic behavior in late adulthood, and that religiousness buffers
against depression and loss of life satisfaction in response to
adversity. Wink is
currently writing on the relationship among religiousness, self-actualization,
and the fear of death and the implications of adolescent generativity
for physical and mental health in late adulthood.

Wink’s research has been supported by grants from the Open Society
Institute, the Lilly Foundation, and the Fetzer Institute in collaboration
with the Institute
for Research on Unlimited Love. He is currently a recipient of a three
year grant from the John Templeton Foundation awarded for research on the
life-course
development and psychosocial implications of religiousness and spirituality.
Wink is a member of the Gerontological Society of America and the Society
for Personology.

Wink, P., & Dillon, M. (In press). Religiousness and spirituality in the adult years. In D. Wulff
(ed.), Handbook of the Psychology of Religion. Oxford University Press.

Wink, P. (2007).
Live in the third age. In J. B. James & P. Wink (Eds.), The crown of Life:
Dynamics of the early post-retirement period. New York: Springer Publishing
Co.

Wink, P., & James,
J. (2007). Is the third age the crown of life? In J. B. James & P. Wink
(Eds.), The crown of life: Dynamics of the early post-retirement period (305-325).
New York: Springer Publishing Co.

Wink, P. (2006).
Who is afraid of death? Religion, spirituality, and death anxiety. Journal
of Religion Spirituality and Aging, 18,
93-110.

Wink, P., & Scott, J. (2005). Does religiousness buffer against the fear of death and dying in late
adulthood? Findings from a longitudinal study. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 60B, P207-P214.

Wink, P., & Schiff,
B. (2002). To review or not to review: The role of personality and life events
in life review and adaptation to older age. In J. Webster & B.
Haight (Eds.), Critical advances in reminiscence: From
theory to applications. New
York: Springer.